A health trust breached its obligation to provide services to an autistic child whose parents spent nearly £40,000 on private support, a High Court judge has ruled.

Mr Justice McCloskey yesterday granted a declaration that the authority failed to take steps to help the boy lead as normal a life as possible.

Neither the child, now aged 10, nor the trust involved can be identified for legal reasons.

His parents claimed there was a breach of duty under the Children (NI) Order 1995.

The court heard how no assessment of the boy’s development was conducted from his birth until 2009. In 2005 the boy’s parents became aware of the Centre for Early Autism Treatment (CEAT) and an Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) it provided.

The programme was delivered at a cost of £38,391.15 to the parents, before it stopped because they could no longer pay for it.

The trust responded by carrying out a report. But the family said it failed to address his needs.

Granting a declaration in the judicial review case, Mr Justice McCloskey said the trust breached its obligations by failing to assess the needs of a child in need, and provide services designed to minimise the effect of his disabilities.